Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 13-01-2017
Absa says it will cooperate with the public protector’s probe that it pay back R2.25bn it received as part of an unlawful apartheid-era bailout.
The Mail & Guardian newspaper today revealed Busisiwe Mkhwebane provisionally found that government breached the constitution and the Public Finance Management Act.
Absa says it would make further submissions to Mkhwebane’s office on Monday and the final outcome of the report may change materially as it believes the provisional report contain “several factual and legal inaccuracies”.
“We have written to the public protector informing her that we accept her invitation to make further submissions in terms of the Public Protector Act. This will be done on or before the deadline of February 28.”
The bank says it is “regrettable” that the preliminary report had been leaked before further submissions and finalisation could be made to the public protector.
Meanwhile Hennie van Vuuren a senior research associate at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation told Radio Islam if Absa is legally forced to pay back the money it would be able to do so even if means paying off the debt.
“This is one of the real challenges we face and this isn’t only a story about Absa but this is a problem around the world where banks are more or less able to get away and if this is correct and Absa might be included in that group because the argument is that they are too big to fold. If they fail the whole society fails.”
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago says he’s studying Mkhwebane’s preliminary report on Absa and will provide feedback next week.
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